Who’s up for a bit of punishment? Hmm? Anyone? If you found yourself answering in the affirmative, I’ll point you directly to the bottom of this post, where you can dig right into the bowl-you-over sludge extremity of Fister‘s new single, “Star Swallower,” and its accompanying, bound-to-induce-a-seizure-via-its-flashing-lights video. The song hails from the Missouri (pronounced “misery”)-based trio’s upcoming long-player, No Spirit Within, which ironically enough is being issued by Listenable Records. Go figure on that one.

The song closes the album and ends here on a fade, but even that somehow feels violent in its intent, so if you’ve got headphones nearby and want to give your brain a kick in the pants just to show it who’s boss, then yeah, have at it.

Album is out April 27 (maybe sometime in May in the US?) and preorders are up now. From the PR wire:

Missouri-based doom merchants FISTER will unleash the earth-rupturing fruits of their No Spirit Within full-length this spring via Listenable Records. Manifesting a sound so poisonous, polluted, and nihilistic that “sludge,” “doom,” “funeral,” and “death” are the only words close to suitable in description, the Midwestern outfit are overpowering and relentless at a city-leveling volume like a Sisyphean artillery brigade cursed to push two hundred tons of speaker cabinets uphill forever. No Spirit Within was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios in St. Louis and will be released via Listenable Records in Europe on April 17th followed by a US street date of May 18th.

A video for closing track “Star Swallower,” created by Chariot Of Black Moth, is currently playing. Comments bassist/vocalist Kenny Snarzyk, “‘Star Swallower’ follows in the tradition of our Violence EP and ‘Horror Vacui’ from our split 7″ with Norska. It’s about the slow death of this universe that mankind will neither be around to fear or appreciate.”

FISTER’s No Spirit Within will see release on CD, LP, and cassette formats. For preorders go to THIS LOCATION.

Hailing from the confluence of infectious disease, arbitrary violence, and rivers of industrial filth that is St. Louis, Missouri, FISTER has been sublimating their brutally toxic environment into a deliberate and belligerent challenge to the eardrums since 2009. Comprised of drummer Kirk Gatterer, guitarist/vocalist Marcus Newstead, and Kenny Snarzyk on bass and vocals, this trio converts an eclectic swarm of extreme metal influences into the sonic analogue of trench warfare, concussive, bloody, and exhausting. Honed to grisly sharpness through years of performance, they have shared stages with countless musicians, including supporting sludge icons Eyehategod and Crowbar and appearances at the SXSW, Psycho Las Vegas, and Roadburn festivals. Pairing their seismic live offerings with more than a dozen releases, they have literally poured their blood into the work along the way – for their 2012 EP Violence, the band members had blood drawn and mixed with the ink used to print the liner notes.

From the hazy bulldozer bongripping of debut LP Bronsonic to 2015’s impossibly dismal IV, a gruesome and lysergic forty-four-minute long single track that tests the limits of adjectives like heavy or bleak, their sound is continually (d)evolving. Consistently finding new ways to hit bottom in a sequence of splits with fellow underground juggernauts Dopethrone, Primitive Man, and Teeth among others, FISTER has emerged as one of the nastiest strains of doom metal, adept at fusing the narcotic tension of drowning in misery with the planet-splitting intensity of devout amplifier worship.

Not that Desertfest London 2018 wasn’t already plenty heavy — I mean, fucking Napalm Death are playing — but pretty much anytime you add SumaandPrimitive Man to anything, you’re going to jump into a different weight class entirely when it comes to tone. The Swedish noise-bludgeoners and Denver’s most wanted aggressors are just two of the six acts confirmed for this year’s Human Disease Promo / When Planets Collide stage, which is traditionally where one finds some of Desertfest London’s most vicious and brutal fare. It would seem 2018 is no different in this regard.

Oh, and Weedeater topping it all off with a set specifically comprised of early material? Nice touch. No way in hell that’s going to be anything other than a good time.

From the Desertfest site:

WEEDEATER, PRIMITIVE MAN AND MORE FOR HUMAN_DISEASE_PROMO / WHEN PLANETS COLLIDE STAGE!

Yet again, we’ve got our good friends from Human_Disease_Promo and When Planets Collide rolling in with their annual heavy stage. As ever, they’ll be delivering a slab of pure brutality this year bringing 6 new bands to the bill as well as a special second set from the previously announced Weedeater. Staggerin’ Matt tells us more about what to expect at The Underworld on Sunday 6th May below.

“This year we’ve gone for an all out colossus of weighty heaviness for the Human_Disease_Promo / When Planets Collide Stage at Desertfest 2018.

Along to top proceedings we have North Carolina reefer riff rascals Weedeater coming in for a special set – their second appearance of the weekend – heading up the Underworld to play a packed bowl of tracks from the earliest strains of their career. It’s gonna be a low down dirty hoot.

Backing them up will be the obscenely punishing, abrasive blows of Denver’s most crushing Primitive Man, stomping and hard driving riffs from Canadian bruisers Bison, a lush hammering pysche vortex in the form of Swedish outfit Suma, joining from St. Louis, the engulfing intensity of destructive filthsters Fister, Nottingham D.I.Y. downers / viscous sludge nasties Moloch and the gigantic cavernous rumblings of UK duo Bismuth.

All said it’s likely the heaviest lineup we’ve ever forged together for the Underworld to bear witness to, so come join us all day on the Sunday to have ya brain fried up and handed back as a pile of stewed mush! It’s gonna be bloody loud in there!”

With this latest set of additions to Desertfest 2018 and more still to come, on top of the dozens of great bands already announced, this year’s heavy weekender looks to bigger than ever. Don’t miss your chance to be at the UK’s premier underground festival. Book your tickets today.

Desertfest London 2018 4th-6th May in Camden Town, London 3-day pass (£115) now on sale AT THIS LOCATION

Our special split payment plan is available until December 12th! Pay half of your ticket now and the other half in January. Find more info HERE.

Do you love atmospherically switched on and utterly skull-cleaving extreme doom? Sure, we all do. One should therefore take note of tomorrow as the release date of the new split between Los Angeles soulcrushers CHRCH and their bet-we-can-write-an-even-longer-song scathing compatriots in Fister. Because, you now, with the cleaving and whatnot. Issued through respected purveyor Battleground Records and Crown an Throne Ltd., it’s just two tracks, but that’s frankly all you need and even franklier probably all you could stand anyway from these two litmus test outfits pushing the limits of hyperbole-worthy viciousness. Get it, get doomed.

The PR wire delivers humbling brutality:

On November 17th 2017, the stunning new split by CHRCH & Fister will be released The album consists of two tracks and will be released on limited edition vinyl via Crown and Throne Ltd and Battleground Records.

CHRCH have been hard at work crafting their particular brew of sound since late 2013. There is no image or campy gimmick to uphold, only the humble continuation and glorification of those fundamental musical elements that first built and then sustained the genre and it’s offshoots over the course of decades.

This purity and honesty comes across in a striking manner on the band’s debut ‘Unanswered Hymns’, a sprawling roller coaster of an album that plumbs the heights and depths of emotion, whether be it sorrow, loss, or redemption. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Patrick Hills at Earthtone Studios in Rocklin, CA, the recording exudes a warm, organic tone that draws the listener in to music heavily influenced by traditional doom, psych rock, drone, and ambience. CHRCH cannily wields dynamic songwriting, musicianship, and raw power to spin a spellbinding tale of occult darkness that clashes with illuminating melodies and riffs drenched in grimy reverb. Minimalistic, indulgent, or straightforward, the music of CHRCH is simply whatever the listener wants it to be.

Fister, coming off their recent reissue of “Gemini” on vinyl (Encapsulated Records), their split 7″ with TEETH (Broken Limbs Recordings), and of course their last 12″ “IV” (Crown and Throne Ltd.), continues to incorporate heavy influences from the black and death metal genres into a depressing sludge spewing heaviness that many have attempted, but few have mastered.

Hey, if you’re going to go broke, let’s face it: You’re not likely to run into many causes as worthy as the lineup culled together for Psycho Las Vegas. It ain’t cheap — any event that advertises a payment plan obviously knows it’s a considerable ask — but whether you’re going to see Slo Burn for their only US gig or King Diamond doing Abigailor Mulatu Astatke because going to see Mulatu Astatke is a life-event, the arguments in favor are plentiful and convincing. Whatever else you want to say, Psycho Las Vegas is the first annually-held American festival with a focus on heavy and underground rock to really establish itself as world class.

That in itself is a reason to support the cause, whether it’s through a day ticket or a pass for the entire weekend, but it doesn’t necessarily lesson the expense of making the trip or staying in one of the US’ most lucrative tourist traps, let alone things like band merchandise, meals and the occasional adult beverage if you’re inclined to have one. The thought of seeing Neurosis, Sleep and Carcass share a stage over the course of a weekend or watching Conan, the new trio-incarnation of Pentagram and Yawning Man poolside or from the balcony of a room in the Casino Tower is incredible, and after hearing stories from those who undertook the journey in 2016 or attended the prior Psycho California in 2015, the idea wants nothing for appeal. Fiscal issues can be a bummer. By the time August rolls around, I’ll have been out of paid work for two months. I know how it goes.

And I’m hardly the most responsible person when it comes to money, but the truth of the matter is there are ways to mitigate costs for travel, lodging and other concerns, and if the thing preventing you from picking up a ticket to the show has been the seeming impossibility of affording a stay at the Hard Rock or of finding a cheap-enough flight to get there, maybe it’s worth trying to shift finances around to make it happen. Music is important, and when debt collectors are spamming your phone it’s hard to think about the non-cash value of life experiences, but the fact is the bills you need to pay will still be there. The bill with Corrosion of Conformity in a lineup alongside Kylesa‘s Laura Pleasants, Domkraft, Swans, Elephant Tree and Heavy Temple? Much less so.

Here are a few pointers that hopefully can save you a couple bucks. Some of it’s day-one stuff, but things like hotel picks and transportation nuances are good to know either way.

Check it out:

Flying In• Buy tickets on a Tuesday for the cheapest rates. • Use a discount flight search. • If you can, fly in on Thursday and leave on Monday for better rates, search different days and times to come in and leave. • Book early. Rates go up in the summer.

Getting There• Ride apps cost less than cabs. • The Hard Rock is less than a mile from the airport. Cheap trip anyway. • There are free shuttles from most Vegas hotels to the strip and tourist attractions.

Staying There• This one is huge… don’t stay at the Hard Rock if you can’t afford it! Alexis Park, RUMOR, Red Roof Inn are all across the street and cheap. Scope out a position on a map if you need to; that’s what Street View is there for. • Partner up to share rooms. You’ve got social media and it’s not like you’re going to do more than sleep and (hopefully) shower there anyway. Might as well join forces and save expense where you can.

Drinks• BYO. Vegas has open-container laws. If you think hooch is too expensive at the Hard Rock, get loaded on the sidewalk before you go in. • One way or another, hydrate. You’re staying in the desert in August. Don’t be stupid.